June 10, 2002 Research Update

James Bogash, D.C. Mesa, AZ
info@lifecarechiro.com
www.lifecarechiro.com

Sulforaphane, H pylori and stomach tumors

This study finds that a substance found in broccoli has the ability to inhibit H pylori infection as well as blocking stomach tumor formation from the H. pylori. We spend so much time in research looking for ways to kill off this bug and whether this triple-therapy regimine is better than that one and so on. I've said it before and I'll say it again here--it is slowly appearing that H pylori is just a manifestation of poor lifestyle choices. We already know that low vitamin C in gastric juice is found in patients with H pylori. Now we see that compounds in broccoli are inhibitory for the growth of this bug. Give my theory a few years for the research to catch up and you can say casually that you knew about that years ago to all your friends... PNAS -- Abstracts: Fahey et al. 99 (11): 7610

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The diet-induced proinflammatory state

The full text of this article is probably one of the most comprehensive and well referenced that I have ever read on this topic. The idea that the diet can be pro or anti-inflammatory is lost on most clinicians, and yet the research strongly suggests this. Any patient with any chronic disease related to inflammation needs to evaluate their diet (considering that almost all chronic diseases have an inflammatory component, that means just about everybody...). I still remember a patient I had a year or so back with scleroderma. This patient came in with an oxygen tank due to the pulmonary fibrosis, used a walker and was always in intense pain. When I suggested that diet may have an impact on her condition, I may as well have suggested she jump off a cliff. None of her specialists had ever mentioned that diet could have an impact on her condition. Heck...what do I know?? I'm just one of those crazy chiropractors...

Red Wine, Black Tea Polyphenols Modulate Expression of COX-2

Geez--billions of dollars spent on developing and creating the market for a selective COX-2 inhibitor (quite an interesting tale if you follow Mansanto's "public health" info on the dangers of non-selective COX inhibitors) when we've had several compounds that seem to do the same thing already in own kitchen cabinets. Oops...I forgot that you can't patent and make gobs of money off of wine and tea. This study mainly focuses on the potential anti-cancer abilities of inhibiting certain enzyme systems in the GI tract.

Very-low–dose niacin on HDL in patients on long-term statin therapy

Remember that niacin is a well established (but hardly used) therapy for hypercholesterolemia. At therapeutic dosages (roughly 2-3 grams/day) the main side effect is skin flushing. This study uses low dose niacin (100 mg/day) to effect HDL levels. How about adding this to a natural approach to lowering overall cholesterol levels instead of statins?

FFA-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction Can Be Corrected by Vitamin C

Kind of makes you wonder how we can see headlines that vitamin C does not protect against heart disease, huh? This study finds that antioxidant therapy may help to protect the lining of the blood vessels against oxidative damage from increased free fatty acids in the bloodstream. The FFA can be increased when insulin resistance lowers the ability of cells to take up the FFA from the bloodstream, so lifestyle changes to increase insulin sensitivity would go nicely with the antioxidant therapy.

Probiotics, prevention of antibiotic associated diarrhoea: meta-analysis

Now that the literature is virtually flooded with information on the clinical application and safety record of probiotics, we should begin to see its use in general clinical practice in another 35 years (that accounts for the standard 40 decades for the thumping on the heads of clinicians minus the past 5 years in which probiotics have been showing up in the literature). Remember also that antibiotic resistance is not the only problem with antibiotic overuse--destruction of normal, protective flora has a larger, more insidious impact on public health. Unfortunately this aspect is rarely addressed in the mainstream medical journals.